ArticleSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2023
Should We be Concerned with Nicotine in Sport? Analysis from 60,802 Doping Control Tests in Italy.
Article in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effects of nicotine withdrawal on exercise-related physical ability and sports performance in nicotine addicts: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2024Pooled it
- Oral Health Conditions and Physical Performance in Two Different Professional Team Sports in Germany: A Cross-Sectional Study.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Snus use in football: the threat of a new addiction?Biology of sport · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNicotine is a psychostimulant drug with purported use in sports environments, though the use of nicotine among athletes has not been studied extensively.
objectiveThe aim of this study was to assess the nicotine positivity rate in 60,802 anti-doping urine samples from 2012 to 2020.
methodsUrine samples obtained in-competition at different national and international sports events held in Italy during the period 2012-2020 were analysed. All samples were from anonymous athletes that were collected and analysed at the WADA-accredited antidoping laboratory in Rome, Italy. Samples were analysed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, with a cut-off concentration for nicotine of > 50 ng/mL. Results were stratified by year, sport and sex.
resultsAn overall mean of 22.7% of the samples (n = 13,804; males: n = 11,099; females: n = 2705) showed nicotine intake, with male samples also displaying higher positivity rates than female (24.1% vs 18.5%). Sample positivity was higher during 2012-2014 (25-33%) than 2015-2020 (15-20%). Samples from team sports displayed a higher positivity rate than those from individual sports (31.4 vs 14.1%).
conclusionsThe current data demonstrates that one in five samples from a range of 90 sports test positive for nicotine in-competition. There is a lower positivity rate in endurance versus power/strength athletes and higher positivity rate in team versus individual sports, probably accounted for by differences in physiological and psychological demands and the desire for socialisation. WADA, international and national sports federations should consider these findings with concern, proactively investigate this phenomenon and act in order to protect the health and welfare of its athletes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.